Fatal Attraction
by ForeverInUrArms
Summary: [PostHogwarts]She's the top Auror in her league. He's the top Death Eater. They unite on a mission to kill one another and they end up doing something completely different. They fall in love. DMHG.
1. The Mission

**Author's Note: I deeply apologize for doing this to you guys! I am reposting Fatal Attraction and I don't know what else at the moment, so please bear with me as I get my fanfictions back on track. I had to remove them to get into so I hope you guys aren't like, "What the hell is her problem?" Well, I'm back and I plan on staying here until decides to get rid of me. Hahaha…like that'll ever happen. Anyway, I did write more of this story and I will be posting it along with the rest of the chapters I already wrote. I have to edit out the song lyrics though, so…sorry guys. Love ya and please review!**

_Chapter One: The Mission_

She sat at her desk, sucking on the tip of her second Sugar Quill that morning. For one reason or another, she had fallen madly in love with Sugar Quills and now could not go one whole day without eating just one. Her notes were sitting in front of her upon a yellow legal pad, the last thing her father had given her before he died. She had always used it since.

"So, what am I supposed to do?" She asked the man sitting in front of her, absentmindedly tucking a lock of her long, wavy, auburn hair behind her ear.

"Oh, fuck it, Hermione. You are the brightest witch in the entire Ministry! Surely you have to know what you are doing!" The wizard, whom went by the name Moon, retorted sharply.

"I told you, Moon. I don't like swearing!"

"Well, I _deeply_ apologize," Moon sarcastically replied. "You're twenty one, for god's sake. Break out of your shell for once. Do something un-Hermione-like."

Hermione Granger rolled her eyes. The entire team knew Moon had a thing for Hermione, but he was just too chicken to tell her.

The entire team of Aurors, that is.

It was common knowledge among her fellow comrades that their leader, Shadow, would giver her this assignment. She was born to do it. In fact, this assignment was the one where she would get her "nickname".

The group of Aurors that Hermione had teamed up with had come up with this whole "secret society" pact. They would be given nicknames so their true identities were never known. They would all call each other by these nicknames and if any one of them was ever caught calling the other by their real name…they would never come back.

The entire team had called her "Cub" since she first started her career as an Auror. Moon was the only one who had given her a true nickname.

"Well, Whisper, what do you need to know?"

"Is Whisper my nickname to you or something?" Hermione loved to poke fun at Moon every chance she could get. He never really understood that she was just playing with him, which satisfied her even more.

"Yes, it is. I told Shadow that it should be your true nickname and not just one that I call you, but he said he had a better one waiting for you," Moon was silent for a moment, then softly muttered, "No matter what they call you, you will always be Whisper to me…"

Hermione grinned. "I kind of like it…it's like me in a lot of ways."

Moon grinned sheepishly back at her. "Thank you, Whisper."

"You are most welcome."

It was a very tender moment for both Hermione and Moon. The two of them were friends all through training…they had even almost started dating once, but it never really worked out.

"Moon? May I ask you a question?"

"Of course…"

"What…what's your real name?"

Moon was taken aback. "My real name?"

"Yeah. Moon can't be your real name, can it?"

Moon shook his head. "My real name is…oh, it's so silly." He turned a shade of brilliant crimson as he spoke.

"You know I won't laugh at you, Moon…" Hermione gently placed a hand upon his cheek. "And you know I can always find out on my own…I have ways of hacking into each and every persons file."

Moon grinned, then softly whispered, "Hayden. Hayden Downleaf."

Hermione smiled. "It's not that hard, is it? I think it's a very cute name. Hayden…I always liked that name. And you look like a Hayden. Your dirty blond hair, clouded blue eyes, and year-round tan do it…I think that Hayden is a much nicer name than Moon…Moon just doesn't fit your personality."

Moon shuffled his feet. "Well…I…err…I like your name, too. Hermione Granger. It sounds so…so much like you."

"Thank you. It's not what I would prefer as a name, but what can I say?"

"Why not?"

"I don't really have a way to make a nickname with my real name. I mean, there's Hermy…'Mione…and that's about it."

"'Mione is cute."

Hermione paused. "Moon…what are you really trying to tell me?"

"He's really trying to tell you that if he doesn't explain your mission to you in the next two minutes, he'll be fried to a crisp." Another Auror, Eagle, walked into Hermione's cubicle. "Whatcha up to, Miss Granger?"

"Hello, Eagle. What _is_ my mission, anyway?"

Eagle ran his hand through his shoulder-length black hair. "Well, it sort of needs a lot of explanation time."

"Eagle, I've got all the time in the world. Then again, I do have to send quite a few owls, so try to make it quick."

"You are to hunt and kill a certain Death Eater. All we could scrounge up about him is his picture, some facts about his family genealogy, and that they all call him Serpent Tongue. The picture isn't exactly perfect, but at least you can see his face."

Moon nodded. "He's a particularly dangerous Death Eater as well. If you take him out, you may very well change the course of this war."

"I thought Aurors weren't supposed to kill…"

Eagle sighed. "Shadow got special pardoning for this one. Don't worry…killing someone isn't as horrible as it may seem."

Hermione paused, then nodded. "I'll do it, but on one condition."

Eagle grinned. "Here. A message from Shadow. I think you'll find what you are looking for in there." And with that, Eagle left.

Moon looked down for a moment, then placed a small piece of parchment upon Hermione's desk and quickly left as well.

Hermione watched the two of them go, then grabbed Shadow's letter, ripped open the envelope, and began to read.

_Hermione Granger,_

_Enclosed is a color photograph of Serpent Tongue and every single thing we know about him up to date. Hopefully this helps you find him…I even added a few places where you might find him in there. I know you wish to know what your true nickname is, so here it is._

_From here on out, you will be known as Lionheart. Do not ask me why, for I have my reasons. If you really wish to know, think about your career at Hogwarts._

_Good Luck, Lionheart!_

_Shadow_

"Lionheart…it's so…majestic. So royal." Hermione scanned over the letter once again and found a postscript.

_P.S. Advice from me to you. Start a new life for yourself. Make yourself who you really want to be for the rest of your life. You may be surprised at the results._

Hermione grinned, shaking her head. She placed the note on her desk, where she could read it anytime she wanted to, then reached for Moon's note.

It was very short, but it said everything it needed to.

_I love you, Whisper._

_Moon._


	2. Too Scared?

_Chapter Two: Too Scared?_

His long cloak of midnight blue swayed slightly in the gentle night breeze. Something about this night made him very uneasy…

He turned back to look upon the place his called his home. The world that was his very own…yet he always felt as though he never truly belonged there.

The shadows cast from the large gravestones littered about the grassy moor made the night seem even more terrifying. At least, that's how Serpent Tongue felt.

No one really knew his real name. They always called him that…ever since he had come to their service, sobbing like a young child who lost its favorite toy and the blood dripping from his wounds faster than rain. He was taken in for his family bloodline, not because he was hurt.

Voldemort could care less if he was dying. He just cared that he was carrying on the Malfoy tradition.

"Serpent Tongue?" His young apprentice, Jacob, looked up into his master's eyes with fear.

"What is it, Jacob?" Serpent Tongue sighed. Jacob always had some sort of question for everything that was happening or has happened or may happen in the future.

"Why are you crying?"

Serpent Tongue put a hand to his cheek, feeling the wetness of tears trickling down his pale face. "Oh…I really don't know…"

"Do you miss your family?" Jacob asked very politely. He knew that he had to tread lightly on this subject…there were horrors in Serpent Tongue's past that most young boys never even dreamed of.

"In some ways…I miss the life I once had…the friends I once had fun with. In others…I'm glad to be rid of the asshole I called a father."

Jacob, being only ten years old, knew every cuss, swear, and foul word in the dictionary and even some that weren't. He picked them up from Serpent Tongue and others around him.

"Serpent Tongue?"

"Hm?"

"Will I make a good Death Eater when I get old enough?"

Serpent Tongue's weathered roughness melted away for a moment to reveal a most handsome smile. Coming from a twenty one year old man with long silver blond hair, cold silver eyes, and skin that looked as pale as a dead man, this was a rarity to see.

"You, my young apprentice, will be the finest Death Eater the world has ever seen. I must admit, you may end up taking my place when I leave on this mission."

Jacob's eyes lit up. "You really think so?"

"I _know_ so." Serpent Tongue turned away, ashamed to show his fear.

"What's the matter, Serpent Boy? _Too scared?_" Alex, Serpent Tongue's only close friend, slapped him on the back in a rather rough manner.

"Oh yeah, sure…_I'm TERRIFIED!_" Serpent Tongue chuckled. "You know, I think I have a permanent bruise on my back where you slap me all the time!"

"So, how's the Serpent Baby doing?" Alex grinned at Jacob. "Training getting a little old?"

Jacob blushed slightly, but it was so dark outside, a careful observer could not even tell. "A little. Serpent Tongue always tries to make it interesting…"

"Oh, sure Jake. Serpent Boy is _so fucking interesting!_ Bloody hell, kid!"

Jacob grinned. "Well, it's sort of hard when he goes off on his missions and I have to take over his jobs for him. A little bit boring as well…"

"Well, you'd better get used to it. He'll be gone for quite some time for this one." Alex turned to Serpent Tongue. "Time to go, kid."

Alex was about twenty-nine years old, and anyone younger than him automatically becomes a kid. Anyone older was "Sir" or "Ma'am".

"May I have a moment alone with Jacob? I must explain his duties to him…"

"Of course…" Alex began to leave as Serpent Tongue turned to Jacob.

"I want to tell you something just in case I don't make it back alive from this mission…I want to tell you my real name…"

"Yes…?"

"My real name is Draco Malfoy."

Jacob's eyes went as wide as tea saucers. "_The_ Draco Malfoy?"

"The same one."

"Wow…this is an honor, sir."

"You are the only one who knows who I really am…"

"SERPENT TONGUE!" The voice of the Dark Lord echoed over the hills, terrifying him into running to the source of his voice.

"APPARATE!" He touched his mark, making Draco's burn.

"I'm coming, my Lord!" Draco quickly apparated to his side. "Yes?"

"You are prepared for this mission?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"You are prepared to die?"

Draco swallowed, then weakly answered. "Yes, my Lord."

"Good. Here is her picture. Those who know her call her Lionheart or Whisper."

"I understand, sir." Draco took the picture and quickly examined it.

"Draco?"

He looked up, terrified. "Yes, my Lord?"

"Do not fail me."

"Why would I fail you?"

The Dark Lord sighed. "You always say that, Serpent Tongue. How do I know that this time you will fail me?"

"I will not fail you. No matter what happens, I am loyal to you."

"Good. Now be on your way."

"Yes, my Lord." Draco readjusted his cloak upon his shoulders and ran off into the darkness of the night.

"That boy is so troublesome sometimes. I would rather he did fail me so I can send him on his way."

Alex, who appeared from the shadows in a rather mysterious way, nodded. "I can finally take over as the head Death Eater."

"Yes, Alexander. You will be my partner at last."

"Ah yes…the ultimate power…" His eyes glowed maliciously.

"But keep this to yourself, Alexander. The entire world does not need to know that however close you are to Serpent Tongue, you wish to have the power that he has every single day."

"Of course, my Lord…"


	3. Running

_Chapter Three: Running_

She ran. She ran faster and harder than she had ever ran in her entire life.

Hermione was scared. Scared of what could happen…scared of what she may become if she fails…scared of what she would be if she triumphed…

But…she was mostly scared of her feelings.

Moon…her best friend…just told her he loved her. She knew something was the matter, but…

She didn't know that it was this strong of a feeling that was troubling him.

Love…that simple three letter word changes people's lives every second of every day. Your true love could tell you he loved you and, faster than you can blink, you are a married couple. The one you've been chasing after for months on end finally gives in and tells you he loves you. Most of the time, they're just being nice, but it means the world to you.

But there are instances where you are about to embark on a dangerous mission and your best friend leaves a note on your desk saying he loves you.

There was no real trouble with him telling her that he loved her. There was just one tiny little problem that made this whole thing skyrocket to the ground.

She didn't love him back.

It was not as though she didn't love him as a friend…she just wasn't interested in him romantically.

Hermione's legs began to cramp up, but she kept running. Her thoughts kept her going.

Who was this all-powerful Serpent Tongue? He seemed so familiar and yet…he didn't.

For some reason or another, the person she kept referring him to was a silver-blond boy at Hogwarts whom everyone hated.

'_But it couldn't be him_,' She thought to herself. '_He was shorter…his hair wasn't so long…and he never had such a stern look upon his face…_'

She began to trip slightly, but nothing stopped her onward progress. In fact, she had been running for so long…

She forgot why she even started.

Those thoughts now kept her legs moving in their forward motion. Why did she even start running? Was she so scared of what she had told Moon just before she left?

Was she so terrified of what was to come?

Hermione was a little scared of actually killing a man. She had never killed someone in her life…but they expected her to kill this man.

She didn't want to kill him.

She didn't want anything to do with him, if it came to that.

He ran. His feet slapped against the ground so hard, pain shot up his leg in sharp spurts. But he didn't care. All he cared about was getting as far away from that graveyard as possible.

Draco hated it there. No matter how much he told himself it would get better, it never did. And now his best friend wanted power.

He wasn't going back.

He never wanted to go there in the first place.

It was the only life that he saw for about a hundred miles the night he ran away from home.

His breath was heavy in his chest, but he kept running. In fact, if he died right here right now…he wouldn't care.

Nothing mattered to him anymore.

The moment he lost the girl he thought he loved was the moment when everything ended in his life.

She was so beautiful…her hair was just perfect…the way it fell upon her shoulders in such a way that made an angel's hair look horribly ugly. Her eyes…so open, so alive…

To Draco, Kate was going to be the one. She was the one who made him laugh…made him cry…made him wish he was with her every single moment of every single day.

But the moment she told him she had to go back to America…his life came to a crashing halt.

He lost the girl he truly loved and she truly loved him in return.

Love, in Draco's point of view, was something wonderful when you had it, horrible when you lost it.

Love was beautiful when the sun shined, horrible when it rained.

He hated love at the moment…he didn't want anything to do with it…

He didn't want anything to do with this girl he was supposed to kill either.

Draco took one look at the picture of this girl and was disgusted. She looked so perfect…her hair was perfectly pulled back into a bun…her eyes were full of laughter…

She looked like Kate…but she wasn't exactly like her.

The way she smiled was like Kate…

The way her eyes were always full of spunk and happiness was like Kate…

But her physical features differed.

Oh, whom was he kidding? He knew he would never see Kate again…and no one could ever replace her love.

The passion she gave to him…

His feet began to burn from running for too long, and he was sure that if there were any blisters on them, they had broken open and began to bleed.

Staring ahead, Draco saw a figure running towards him…

A figure that looked very much like a girl…

Nothing stopped either person's onward process except for one thing.

A direct collision into each other.


	4. I Know You!

_Chapter Four: I Know You!_

The two of them fell onto the hard black pavement, bumping their heads against the sidewalk with a rather large amount of force.

"OW!" They yelled in unison. Hearing each other's voices made them pause, clapping their hands over their mouths.

Draco looked at Hermione…

Hermione looked at Draco…

Silence filled the small street for quite some time. It was almost ten minutes before Draco was brave enough to break the pause.

"Are you…Lionheart?"

Hermione nodded. "I am...are you Serpent Tongue?"

"Yes…but I'm trying to break away from that name. I kind of don't like the world it reminds me of…"

Hermione gently smiled. "I understand exactly how you feel. Lionheart is sort of hard on my heart as well. So is Whisper…" She turned away, feeling the tears silently falling down her cheeks.

"Is there something wrong?"

"It's nothing…just something that happened to me yesterday…"

Draco walked over to Hermione, placing a hand upon her shoulder. "I just don't like to see girls cry…"

"The person who gave me the nickname of Whisper told me they loved me…I mean, it's nothing really that important, because I don't love him back, but…I don't really know how to tell him."

"Oh, I understand…I've had this happen to me before. It happened back at Hogwarts in my last year…I think her name was Pansy…or something like that. I don't really remember. Anyway, she asked me out in a very abrupt fashion, and I stared at her for about five minutes, then I told her no. She ran off crying…I felt really bad, but I had another girl in mind."

Hermione turned to Draco. "You dumped Pansy Parkinson? She loved some kid at Hogwarts…some blond haired boy who everyone hated…"

"You mean Draco Malfoy, right." Draco sighed, remembering all those years of people hating him. It really wasn't his fault, in fact. His father was abusing him at the time, and he needed to take out his anger from all the horrible things his father did to him on someone else.

"You know Draco? I haven't seen him since our last day at Hogwarts…"

Draco nodded. "I know him better than I know anyone else…"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think?" Draco loved playing this game with people. Pretending he was someone else until his name was brought into the picture. It usually took people a very long time to actually figure out that he was Draco and not some strange person off the street who somehow knew Draco in some shape or form.

"Are you, like, his brother or something?"

This made him laugh. "That's the first time someone asked me if I am related to Draco! Don't you get it? _I'm _Draco!"

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Are you serious!"

"Dead serious!"

The two of them laughed for quite some time. For some reason or another, the both of them found this extremely funny.

Hermione was holding her stomach once her laughter had died away. "I thought it was you!"

Draco was silent for a moment, then he randomly yelled out, "I KNOW YOU!"

"What! Where did that come from!"

"You're Hermione Granger, aren't you!"

Hermione nodded. "What, is my laugh the same or something?"

"No…I just remembered sometime when I saw you laughing with your friends…Harry Potter and all them. You always held your stomach like that after you laugh for an extended period of time."

"Well, I am Hermione…just a few years older."

"Yeah, the same goes for me."

"You have to be about the same age I am. Twenty-one?"

Draco nodded, grinning. "I can't believe it's you!"

"I can't believe I was sent to KILL you!" Hermione giggled warmheartedly. "It's just crazy…we meet in the strangest of places and end up laughing over the stupidest things."

"I still can't believe you hated me at Hogwarts, but then we started to become friends during the last few weeks."

"I remember that…we sort of put aside our anger and hatred for each other and became really close friends. Then you left…you never told me what you left to do. I told you I was leaving Hogwarts to become an Auror, but you just said that you were leaving and never coming back."

Draco nodded. "I didn't want to tell you where I was going…you would have freaked out."

"I sort of thought that was what you were going to become. You wanted to please your father, no matter how much you hated him. Did he still abuse you when you left Hogwarts?"

"Yeah…I ran away from home in the end…that's when I became a Death Eater."

Hermione hugged Draco for the first time in her entire life. "I missed you so much…you were the greatest friend I ever had…"

Draco smiled. "I missed you, too. I had a girlfriend for awhile there, but I always thought about you…you were so much nicer than her."

She laughed. "What, didn't you like her?"

"I used to think so. I really thought she was going to be "the one"…you know what I mean by "the one", don't you?"

"Yeah…you thought you two were going to get married."

"Exactly. But she was an American…she was just here on vacation. Her name was Kate…Kate Westbrook."

Hermione smiled. "You miss her?"

"A little…she was so kind to me. We had some good times, and a few bad times as well…the worst day was when she left for America again…she never wrote for an entire year, whereas I wrote her all the time."

"She never wrote!"

Draco shook his head in reply. "Never. I never got one letter."

"That must have hurt."

"I sort of felt like she was just using me as someone to be with while she was in the U.K. for that two month period."

"Did you love her?"

Draco paused. "I thought I did…now I'm not so sure…"

Hermione nodded. "I thought I loved someone once…I think I still do."

"Really?"

"You wouldn't know who he was, though…and even if you did, you would laugh."

"I understand."

"You know…the Ministry might send out someone to look for me…we can't exactly be standing right out in the open talking to each other if both of us are supposed to be dead."

Draco chuckled. "Yeah…people might think we have reincarnated and we're really ghosts of the real people…or they may think you chickened out."

"Come on…let's find somewhere to go."

"Do you like coffee?"

Hermione nodded. "I love coffee…I can't go a day without at least one cup of it."

"Then I know the perfect place where we can go. Come on, it's not a long walk."

And the two friends walked off together, reminiscing on old times. To the two of them, it felt as though a day had not passed since they left each other those three long years ago.

But they knew there was so much that they had to tell each other about…there had been so many changes in their lives that they just had to tell each other about it.

Draco knew that she would somehow find out who the other girl was whom he had loved at Hogwarts…

Hermione knew that he would somehow find out why she turned down Moon…

The both of them had a small secret that they wanted to keep from each other as long as they could, but somehow, somewhere, the secret would come out.

And their true feelings about each other would finally be revealed.


	5. Catching Up

_Chapter Five: Catching Up_

Hermione sipped her mocha cappuccino; chuckling at the story that Draco had just told her.

"I still can't believe that little Jacob had asked me that question to this day."

"I bet it was one you will probably never forget…" Hermione smirked. "You always had a very good memory for things like that."

"Why, thank you. Now, you have to tell me a story that you won't forget."

Hermione shook her head. "No, no, you won't get it…its not really that funny anyway, but you'll laugh…"

"Oh, come on…I told you a story that I never laugh at and it made you laugh.."

"All right, all right…" Hermione sipped her cappuccino, then began to tell her story.

As she wove her tale, Drano sat there, taking it all in. He laughed at the moments he was supposed to laugh at, gasped at the shocking moments, and applauded at the points where applause was needed. He was watching her with amazement…she never used to be this animated.

"Well, there you go. That's my story. It still brings a tear of laughter to my eye to this day, and I will never forget it. Does it meet the criteria?"

Draco was silent, still staring at Hermione with a thoughtful expression upon his face.

"Draco? Earth to Draco?" She waved a hand in front of his face, grinning.

"Huh? Oh, I'm really sorry…I am so tired nowadays. I never get any sleep and if I do, it's fitful."

"Do you sleep on the ground?"

"Usually."

"Don't ever do that…it hurts your back. That's why you are always so tired…I figured that out when I was on a mission last year. I was keeping an eye on Hogwarts for about four months, and I had to sleep outside because they wouldn't allow me to sleep inside. It was horrible. I needed a back massage every single day for a week."

Draco grinned. "No wonder you have perfect posture."

"I always had perfect posture…well, most of the time."

"Most of the time?"

"There were times when I slouched slightly…I don't do it anymore…makes me crazy if I don't sit right."

Draco laughed. "You were born perfect, weren't you?"

"Shut up! I'm not perfect!"

"Oh, sure…Miss I Always Have Perfect Posture…you people who always have to be perfect all the time…"

"I am starting to loose my perfectionism. About two years ago, I was the same way I was at Hogwarts!"

"You used to be a perfectionist?"

Hermione nodded. "I used to have to have everything perfect. I had to have perfect grades, perfect lifestyle, perfect personality…I started to loose it after I became your friend."

"So I fixed you?"

"In a sense."

Draco punched his fist in the air. "Yes! I changed you! WAHOO!"

"Is this something to celebrate about?"

"Yes it is! You aren't a perfectionist anymore because of me!"

Hermione blushed. "Well…I'm not completely changed…there are some things that I still have to have perfect."

"Well, it's a start! Spend more time with me and I may end up making you the most non-perfectionist that the world has ever seen!"

"You are really into making me a non-perfectionist, aren't you?"

"I just don't like when people have to have everything perfect. It drives me crazy."

Hermione turned away. "My mother turned me into a perfectionist…I used to think that that was the only way a person could be. I started to realize that she was one her entire life and that's why she wanted me to be one. She wanted me to be just like her. My father always opposed it…they used to fight about it all the time when I was younger. I still remember my mother sitting me down in front of the piano every single day and making me play…"

"You know how to play the piano?"

"Yes…it's a skill that I wish I never kept."

"How good are you?"

Hermione turned to Draco. "After ten years of daily practice and then I practiced every single moment I was home for Christmas holiday, which is a grand total of eighteen years of practice, I do think I'm pretty good."

Draco turned and looked around the small coffee shop. "There's a piano over in the corner there. Play something for me…I want to see how good you really are."

"Why do you want to hear how good I am?"

"Because I don't know if you are putting yourself down…Miss Perfectionist."

Hermione got to her feet, walked over to the piano, sat down at the soft velvet chair, and began to play a Mozart concerto.

Draco watched her play, her fingers flying across the keys faster than he had ever seen anyone play. The music flowed with a rhythm much like a true pianist would play it.

Others in the coffee house began to turn and watch her play that beautiful tune in amazement. Some kept the beat with their hands by gently tapping their fingers on the table; others tapped their foot on the ground. But Draco just watched her in silent awe.

As she carefully hit the final notes to finish off the piece, the entire coffee house applauded her. They whistled, cheered, clapped, and did everything in their power to make her play another song.

"Thank you, thank you…this was just a song to prove to a friend of mine that I was better than I said I was."

Someone yelled, "Are you kidding? You're bloody brilliant! Where did you learn how to play so well?"

"Eighteen years of practicing."

A mother turned to her young child, saying, "I told you practicing paid off. See, look at that young lady. She practiced for eighteen years before she got to the point she did."

Hermione noticed the young child and she walked over to him. "Truth be told, my mum forced me to practice, but it did end up paying off in the end. What do you play?"

The boy shuffled his feet. "The flute…"

"Ah, you look like a flute player…keep practicing, and you may end up becoming an amazing flute player."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Draco's mouth went wide. He said the exact same thing to Jacob when he asked him if he would become a good Death Eater…and he said he would become the best Death Eater the world had ever seen.

What a liar he was.

"Here, let me give you some advice: The only way you will ever get better is if you keep on telling yourself that you want to get better. You _want_ to become the best flute player the world has ever seen…you _want_ to become someone every single person knows."

"I do…I want to play for the London Symphony Orchestra…"

"See? You already have a dream! Work on that dream and you will go places with that. If you don't get in the London Symphony Orchestra, but you end up going…oh, I don't know…the orchestra in Sydney, Australia; you have to take what you can get in life. If you don't like what you get at first, stick with it. You may end up finding some amazing results."

Draco was amazed at her words of wisdom. The young boy immediately took out his flute and began to play his flute as he walked off down the street. Hermione's smile was the best part of it all. She was so proud of giving that young man the best advice you can give someone who does not want to stick to their dreams, but they really want to achieve it.

Hermione turned to Draco. "Come on…I think I see Eagle walking down the street towards this coffee house. Do you have a cloak to cover yourself?"

"Yes." Draco threw his cloak about his shoulders, pulling the hood over his face. The beautiful midnight blue color of his cloak made Hermione wish she had a cloak such as his. Hers was a forest green color, but it was nothing like that midnight blue…he could blend in anywhere in the night.

"I love your cloak…"

"Thank you. I like yours. The forest green color looks nice on you…"

"Why, thank you. Come on. We'd better start walking before he notices us."

And with that, Draco followed Hermione out of the coffee shop and down the street into the setting sun.


	6. Say Goodbye

_Chapter Six: Say Goodbye_

The two of them walked down a secluded alleyway, removing their cloak hoods when they were sure that no one was watching them.

"I hate this feeling of running away from everyone," Hermione shook her head in disgust. "Why was I sent to kill you? You're my best friend! I don't want to kill my best friend!"

"I hear you, Hermione, but the world acts in crazy ways sometimes. I don't want to kill you either…you are the first person I could call my best friend…"

"Oh, don't pull out the gushy stuff on me…I'm a sucker for that."

"No, really…you are the first best friend I have ever had. I just wanted to tell you that…it seemed like the right time, I guess."

"Well, you are the greatest friend I have ever had. Guess since we're getting all lovey-dovey and all that, I figure it's the right thing to say."

Draco chuckled. "I always admired your sarcastic humor. Made me work at mine every once and awhile at first…I sort of gave up at the end."

"Thank you…you are just full of comments today, aren't you?"

"I was amazed by your work with that young child…the one who played the flute…you changed his life…"

"I bet he forgets after awhile…his mum will mention me, but he'll be like, 'What girl? No one ever told me anything like that!' It happens all the time…I help young children just like him almost every single chance I can get, but they never remember me…"

"Then why do you keep doing it?"

"Because I keep hoping that some child will end up doing something with themselves someday after I helped them…"

"This young boy might be the one who remembers him."

Hermione smiled. "You really think so?"

Draco nodded. "I don't want to say I know so because you just said that to that little boy and I said it to someone as well…I don't want to copy you."

"What do you mean?"

"Jacob asked me if he would make a good Death Eater when he got older and I told him he would be the best Death Eater the world has ever seen. He asked me, "Do you really think so?" I said back to him, "I know so." And in truth…I don't really think he will make a good Death Eater…now that I think back on it."

"Why?"

"He studied with me."

Hermione stared at Draco with a look of utter confusion. "You would have made him a wonderful Death Eater…even though we really don't want any more wonderful Death Eaters…"

"True. I guess that's why I left…I would have ended up killing someone I really care about."

"Like who?"

"Well…you, for one."

"Anyone else?"

"No…I would have hurt some people that you care about as well…"

"The only person that I truly care about is you."

Draco was silent for a moment, and then he looked up at Hermione. "You really care about me?"

"No, Draco, I absolutely _hate_ you! Are you kidding me? You think I would have saved your life if I hated you?"

"Well…I guess I see what you mean."

"You are my best friend! Best friends save their friend's lives, even if they loose everything they worked so hard to achieve."

"I agree…"

Hermione peeked around the corner, checking to see if anyone was coming. "We're still alone…"

"Good. I want to tell you something that no one else can hear."

"What do you mean…?"

"Hermione…I think you really should leave the Ministry. Leave your team of Aurors behind…they're only destroying you. I do think that you should go back, say you killed me, and then leave. Run away. Forget they ever existed…"

"It's not as easy as you say it is…I will be sent to trial…I could be killed."

"For leaving a mission that the Ministry didn't even agree with in the first place? That's fucking stupid, Hermione! Tell them that they had to have special permission before you were even supposed to complete this mission! The only reason they wanted you to kill me was because you are my best friend. You are close to someone who is the enemy…they found out about our friendship somehow and now they want to destroy it. Don't you see? They want you to stop being my friend! The Ministry caters its employees to become the way they want them to! You are all robots and the Minister is the main computer. The computer programs each and every one of its robot servants to be the way it wants them to be. You are not supposed to have friends outside the circle of employees you work with every single day, but you rebelled against them the entire time and now, they know about it! And they are fucking pissed! They are so fucking pissed that they want you to kill me to remove me from your life. I know the Ministry, Hermione. I've had to spy on them multiple times. Every single person there has no real life outside the Ministry. It used to be different, but it's the twenty first century now. Times have changed. You have to get yourself out of there before anything else happens to you."

Hermione just stood there in awe. For someone who had kept themselves bottled up for so long…to come out and say something as amazing as this…

"You have kept feelings like that inside of you for this long?"

"I sent you messages every once and awhile. I told you to leave the Ministry…get away from there before it was too late. If you leave now, everything will go back to normal. You will reunite with the friends you lost the moment you joined the training…you will have a real life again."

"The Ministry destroyed those messages. They sent me Howlers every once and awhile to tell me that a message was sent to me that was not to Ministry standards…"

"You see what I mean? They warped you into thinking that their way is the right way and no other way is correct. You are a rebel in their eyes, and they want you to change your ways. Leave them, Hermione. Say goodbye to everyone you have to, then go."

"But…I don't want to forget the life that I had once before…"

Draco looked at Hermione. She looked strong on the outside, but in reality, she was weak. She had no clue how to stand up for herself.

"Listen…this is what we have to do. We'll stage this…it'll come out exactly as I tell you it will. The moment you leave this alleyway, you are an actress. You are a fake. You are not who you really are. Play their game for a little while, then get the hell out of there."

Hermione nodded. "What do I have to do?"

"First of all, the moment you leave this alleyway, remove your cloak. It will smell of all the places you've just been the people you have been with. That is evidence. In fact, remove it now so you don't have it with you. I'll keep it for you until I meet up with you again. Then, make some small cuts all over your body. Hands, legs, face…make sure they are bleeding when you get into the Ministry. Remember, I am a horrible person. I attacked you and you fought back, almost sparing your life. If you have to slam your head against a building to get a lump on your head like I punched you in the face, go right ahead. Anything that will make it more believable."

"Why don't you do that for me? I hate inflicting pain upon myself…"

"I'll do it once I'm done explaining. Now, where was I?"

"Cutting myself everywhere to make it seem like you attacked me."

Draco nodded. "Right. Now, run back into the Ministry and breathe really heavy. Like abnormally heavy as if you were just in a fight."

"Excuse me for interrupting, but how do you know all of this?"

"I learned it from the streets. You can figure out just about anything from anyone if you want to."

"I see…you can continue now."

"All right, now, once you are in the Ministry, scream really loudly and then fall. Just fall. When you fall to the ground, fake that you passed out. People will come rushing for you, taking you to a warm safe place."

"What if they take me to St. Mungo's?"

"PLAY THEIR GAME. I don't care where they take you, you have to do this!"

"All right, all right, just tell me what I have to do."

"Anyway, when they take you to that warm safe place of theirs, they will try to wake you up. When they start doing that, just miraculously wake up! Somehow, you just woke up! Then, when they ask you what happened, weave them this tale of how you fought me to my death. Show them the cuts on your hands…make yourself cry if you have to. I don't care what you do; just make them feel really bad for you. When they ask you if I am dead, pause for a moment. Make the suspense build, then take a deep breath and tell them that I am dead. They will immediately make you a hero. You will be the best Auror in the entire Ministry. Once you are paraded back to your brand new office room with lots of singing and cheering, _lock the door._ Do not ask me why, just lock the door. I will tell you your next instructions when I can."

"When will you come?"

"Oh, I'll find you. I'll slip into the Ministry as a casual worker wearing a totally different cloak. I have about twenty of them in my possession, and all of them look completely different. I'll be wearing a lime green cloak. I will walk down to your office area, and don't worry…I know where your office will be. I have ways of figuring it out."

"They'll give me an office?"

"Um, yeah! You will become the second highest Auror in the league. Shadow will never be beaten. He will keep his position."

"All right, go on."

"When I come to your office door, I will knock three times on it. That is your cue to stand by the door and grab the paper that I slip under your door, which will have further instructions on it. Once you get that paper, unlock your door, but do not leave. Do you understand what you have to do?"

"Yes."

"Hermione…I don't want to make it seem like you have to do this…but I think this is in your best interest."

"I'm going to do it…I want to be with you."

Draco smiled. "All right, here." He grabbed a small pocketknife and began to slice up Hermione's body. He made a few cuts on her face, her arms, and her legs. He cut her hands a little deeper so she can have blood on her hands when she entered the Ministry to make them think that he cut her hands, but the blood was his.

"Draco?"

"What is it?"

"I'm scared…"

"Don't be scared…just do what I say, and you can see me again…"

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"This will work, right?"

"Of course it will…"

"Good…I don't want to be there anymore…" Hermione smiled at Draco one last time, then walked out onto the sidewalk and back to the Ministry.

Draco watched her leave, then turned down a different street and began his slow march down his empty road.


	7. National Heroine

_Chapter Seven: National Heroine_

Her nerves were on edge as she slowly walked along the street towards the Ministry of Magic. The cuts on her face stung as the chilly wind blew against her cheeks, but she kept walking.

Hermione did not want to do this. She did not want to fake that she had been attacked by Draco and lived to tell the tale. She did not want to do any of it.

But she had to.

She wanted to be with Draco. She didn't know why, but something in her heart told her she wanted to be with him.

Something in her heart kept telling her about their past together.

Hermione paused in front of the doors of the Ministry, grabbing for her locket. She opened it, seeing a familiar face smiling back at her.

He loved her so deeply, so truly…and she loved him back.

As she looked at that picture of Draco as a young, sexy, seventeen year old, she thought of something she had never thought of before.

'_I think I still love him…_'

She shook the thought out of her mind for the moment, tucking the locket beneath her shirt and running into the Ministry, faking the heavy breaths. When she was about halfway past the check in counter, she stopped.

Hermione looked around, breathing heavily. Without another thought, she screamed. Her shrill scream echoed throughout the entire front entranceway.

And with that, she fell to the ground, pretending to have passed out.

Moon ran to Hermione's side, panting heavily as if he had just run up twelve flights of stairs.

"WHISPER!"

Hermione did not respond to his voice, for she was "unconscious". Moon fell to his knees beside her body, the tears falling down his cheeks.

"Whisper…Whisper, wake up," Moon paused in mid sentence as Eagle walked over. "Wake up, Lionheart…"

"What's the matter with her, Moon?" Eagle knelt down beside Moon.

"I don't know! One minute I hear her screaming, the next, she's lying her unconscious!"

"Come on…let's take her downstairs to your cubicle. It should be quiet there."

Eagle and Moon nodded to one another, then with Eagle holding her legs and Moon supporting her head, the two of them began their slow march down the stairs.

"Hermione…don't die on me, Hermione." Shadow knelt beside her, attempting to wake her up.

Hermione's eyes began to flicker open slightly. She was thinking of Draco's instructions as they tried to wake her. "Wh-Where am I?"

"Lionheart…you are at the Ministry of Magic…do you know who I am?" Shadow asked her, just in case she had a slight case of amnesia.

"Shadow…Shadow, it was so horrible! I was so scared, Shadow!" Hermione's eyes welled with tears, the "fear" showing in her eyes.

"What happened, Hermione? What did he do to you?" Moon was concerned for the girl he loved.

"Oh, Moon, it was so terrifying! He came out of the shadows at me, his cloak swaying in the breeze. He had a knife in his hand…oh, Moon. I wish you were there…you would have helped me." The "tears" fell down her cheeks. Hermione was the master of making herself cry. It was so simple for her, yet for others, it was a difficult task.

"What did he do to you, Lionheart?" Shadow was concerned for Lionheart as well. He did not want to loose his best Auror.

"He came at me, slicing my face with his knife. I fell, screaming. After he cut apart my arms and hands, I pulled out my wand and cast the Killing Curse."

The room was silent for a moment. Then, very cautiously, Eagle whispered, "Is he…dead?"

Hermione was silent, looking away from them to wipe her eyes with her bloody hands. She waited for a few moments, and then she softly muttered, "Yes. He died instantly."

Shadow's eyes lit up. "Are you fucking serious!"

"Yes, I am serious. I killed him instantly."

"Oh my god…Lionheart! You just saved everyone's lives! You just changed the course of the war! YOU ARE A HERO!"

Other Aurors came over, hearing the uproar. They asked a ton of questions, such as, "What did he look like?" "Were his eyes red like the Dark Lord's?"

Hermione got to her feet, dusting off her pants. "I won't take any questions right now…I'm really tired."

"Oh, you must have an office now! You are my partner, Lionheart!"

A chant of, "Lionheart! Lionheart!" sounded throughout the entire floor. People who didn't even work with them were out cheering for her.

"Way to go, Lionheart!"

"You really showed him!"

Hermione nodded to them all as Shadow led her to her new office, beaming.

When the two of them reached room 253, Shadow opened the door and let Hermione walk inside. "I'll let you be for a little while. I'm sure you're tired and want to get a little alone time. You can come out later."

"Thank you, Shadow," Hermione waved goodbye and then shut and locked her door, falling to the floor and bursting into tears.

She hated this feeling of being the best Auror in the league…she didn't want to be like this anymore…she hated the publicity that went along with it. She just wanted to be with Draco…she didn't want to be here any longer. She hated every single person in her league…Moon, Shadow, and Eagle… every single one of them.

They were all a fake.

They were all robots controlled by the master computer.

And she didn't want to be a part of it any longer.

She was not under their spell any longer.

Hermione got to her feet, wiping her eyes and fishing around in her desk for some gauze, tape, and a few band-aids. When she found them, she began to bandage her hands and put band-aids on her other cuts.

_'I do love Draco,'_ She thought to herself. _'Everything in my heart tells me I still love him…I have always loved him. That's why I didn't want to be with Moon…my heart was still attached to Draco. It always has and it always will…oh, Draco…I wish I was with you right now. I wish I could fall into your arms and cry myself to sleep…' _

As she began to finish bandaging her wounds, she heard three knocks upon her door.

Hermione stood beside the door and waited for the paper to come beneath her door. Sure enough, there was a paper sitting beside her feet a few moments later. She waited for Draco to leave, and then she unlocked her door.

But something happened that she did not expect. Someone was opening her door.

Moon was standing in her doorway.

"Hermione? Hermione, are you all right?"

"Yes…yes, I'm fine. Could you leave me be for a moment? I really want to get some rest before I have to start work again."

"I just wanted to ask you if you read the letter I gave you…you know, that one that I gave you when you were given your nickname?"

"Oh, yes. I read that one." Hermione was still not looking at him.

"I just wondered…if you had anything to say about it…"

"Oh, no. Not at the moment. Can I talk to you later?"

Moon was taken aback. He expected her to jump into his arms and tell him that she loved him back…but this…this was something he did not expect. "Oh, yeah. Sure. I'll leave you alone then…"

And with that, she was alone again.

Hermione carefully opened the letter from Draco and silently read to herself.

_Hermione,_

_I will be coming for you at midnight tonight. Stay after hours end. There is nothing further for you to say or do there today…you've made your impact. I can tell…I wrote this outside your office. They were all talking about you, cheering for you…I'm sure you don't really like the whole "national heroine" thing, but they all seem to think you are a prodigy. Wonder what they'll think when you end up missing in the next few days. Anyway, that's really all I have to say at the moment…we'll talk more later. _

_Draco_

Hermione gently smiled. He was right. If she did everything she was supposed to do, she would see him again.

And she was sure that tonight, she would tell him exactly how she felt about him…

In fact, she would tell him exactly how she felt about him since the moment she laid eyes upon him.


	8. The Sun

_Chapter Eight: The Sun_

The soles of his black shoes made small scuffmarks against the sidewalk as he walked alone. People passed by him, giving him strange looks and whispering behind his back, but he was used to it.

In fact, he just accepted it.

A single tear fell down his cheek as he thought about her. The way she smiled at him…the way her laughter rang like church bells on a clear Sunday morning…the way she just stood there…

Everything about her made his life seem so dull and dreary.

Draco was in love with Hermione.

He always had been and he always will…

The problem was…did she love him back?

She did love him once. In fact, the two of them were so deeply in love at Hogwarts that the day she decided that she was going to leave and become an Auror…

He cried.

The tears fell down his face faster than the rain that fell outside that day. He did not want to leave her so soon…

She was so beautiful…so precious…her skin was so much like a porcelain doll's…soft, but hard to get through.

She loved him then…but did she still love him?

Draco walked past the coffee shop the two of them sat in together…he looked at the piano that Hermione played her soul upon and saw a young boy sitting at it, playing a flute.

It was the little boy whom Hermione spoke to about working hard to achieve your goals. He was still playing his flute and, by the looks of it, he was pretty good.

Draco, determined to bring good news to Hermione that night, walked into the coffee shop, thinking that he could get a coffee to go at least.

But the sound of a beautiful flute solo rang in his ears. The young boy was playing a Mozart concerto, but one just slightly different from the one Hermione played.

"Excuse me, my young lad, but what is your name?"

The young boy looked up at Draco, fear shining in his bright blue eyes. "Jack, mister. My name is Jack."

"Don't be scared…I was with the young lady who talked to you about practicing your flute. Do you remember her?"

"Miss Mozart? Yeah, I remember her…saw her in the _Daily Prophet_ this morning as well. At least, it looked like her."

"You are a wizard?"

"Uh huh. I'm starting at Hogwarts this year. I hear that Slytherin is the worst house to be in…is that true?"

"Well…from personally being in Slytherin, it's not as horrible as it may seem, but 99 percent of the people who are in Slytherin become Dark wizards, so I would suggest going into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. They are both known for their wits and their bravery…Gryffindor is good for learning to play Quidditch rather well, but that's just because Harry Potter was in Gryffindor."

Jack's eyes went wide. "Harry Potter was in Gryffindor?"

"Uh huh…he was really good friends with Miss Mozart as well."

"Are you serious! He's, like, my hero! I can't believe you actually met him!"

Draco smiled. "Well, if you want to become like Harry, you have to work really hard. Then again, being in Gryffindor wouldn't hurt."

"I didn't know that so many famous people went to Hogwarts…I can't wait to go!"

"Well, I have to get going. Nice to see you."

"By the way, my full name is Jack Weasley. If you know who Ginny Weasley is, then yeah…she's my mum."

Draco paused. "Wait a moment…isn't your dad Harry Potter?"

"Well…Mum and Harry aren't married yet…I'm an adopted child, and their wedding is soon. It's going to be so hard to live with my hero, but hey…at least my dad is famous, right?"

"I see…I was just wondering, because if you were a true born Weasley, you would have hair redder than fire. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

"Yup. My mum has really red hair…and I mean REALLY red. It's so pretty though…I really wish I had hair like hers…it's so soft, like a kitten's fur."

Draco smiled. Now that he thought about it, the young woman who was with Jack looked somewhat familiar…

"Well, like I said, I really have to get going now. It was nice to meet a fellow wizard."

"Nice meeting you, sir. I like your hair, by the way."

"Thank you."

Draco waved goodbye once more to Jack, then made his way down the street, humming a gentle tune.

He was humming nonsense music, some of it was the piano solo Hermione played, mixed in with a little bit of just anything that came to his mind. In fact, he was creating his own song as he walked along.

The tears began to fall down his cheeks as he remembered that day when Hermione told him she loved him…and that she would always love him.

No matter what stood in their way.

_'I wonder if she remembers her promise,' _Draco thought to himself. _'There is always a possibility that she remembers something about it…I'll ask her tonight. Yeah…tonight's a good time to ask her about it.'_

The smile that lit up Draco's face was brighter than the moon. He looked up, letting the suns rays heat his entire body for just one moment, and then he turned back, looking at the Ministry of Magic.

"Hermione…I hope you remember your promise, because I sure remember mine."

And with that, Draco began to walk back down the street towards the Ministry of Magic once more.


	9. Love Me Tender

_Chapter Nine: Love Me Tender…_

She stared out the window of her office, the weather outside, drastically different from the true weather, made it seem as if it were raining cats and dogs. It was a joke with them, and most of them put it in their memos during the day letting everyone know what the real weather is like outside. The custodial staff loved making it winter outside when it was summer and visa versa.

Hermione twirled a piece of hair around her finger, her thoughts on one single person and one single person alone: Draco. When would he come get her? When would she see him again? And, the most important question of all…

Did he have the same feelings for her as she did for him?

She had thought about this all day long…what did he think of her? Did he think they would be just friends, or did he want to restart the relationship?

In fact…she was thinking about this as well…they really didn't have a true relationship, per say. Draco had never kissed her, never held her hand, never wrapped his arm around her waist when she was cold…

He was one of those types who never really understood what it meant to have a girlfriend…but, then again, neither did she.

Hermione sighed, fishing in her mind for more memories to keep her occupied.

But this time…she brought back a memory that would stick to her heart forever…but it wasn't the most wonderful memory.

_'I know…I know…but this is what I want to do…' She gently grasped his hand, the tears falling down her cheeks. 'You were the one who told me to become whoever I wanted to be…because I could.'_

_'I just don't want to loose you…' He was crying as well, but he made an attempt to wipe her tears away._

_'Oh, Draco…I will miss you….'_

_Draco looked into her eyes, then he softly whispered, 'You won't forget me, will you?'_

_'Me, forget? Never…I have a memory like an elephant…I never forget anything.'_

_The two of them laughed, then they embraced each other for the first and last time. 'I love you, Hermione…'_

_'I love you too, Draco…and I will never forget you…'_

Hermione looked at her door once again, noticing that there was a shadow upon the blinds of the window that rested beside her door.

Getting to her feet, she carefully crossed the room, lifted the blinds, and felt her heart leap.

It was Draco himself.

She carefully opened the door to reveal him standing there with a smile on his face. "Can I come in?" He whispered to her.

"Of course!" She whispered back, then moved aside and let him sneak into the room unnoticed.

"Phew…I was so worried someone would come over and ask me who I was…I was sitting there for about three minutes, you know."

Hermione put her hands on her hips. "Oh my…three minutes! Send me to Azkaban, I let you sit out there all on your own for three whole minutes!"

"Oh, shut up." Draco giggled. "I always liked that about you…you used to do that to me all the time."

"I love doing that to people…it makes them so mad…"

"Well, it used to annoy me when I first met you, but now…I lov-I'm used to it."

Hermione grinned. "What were you going to say before you stopped yourself?"

"Nothing…it wouldn't have made any sense anyway."

"Come on…what time is it?"

Draco looked at his watch. "Midnight exactly. Aren't I good?"

"Of course you are…" Hermione threw her cloak about her shoulders, buttoning it carefully. "Are you ready to go?"

"I've been ready to go since I walked into the room."

"Good…we have to act fast. Don't want anyone to see us sneaking out together, you know…you're a "dangerous Death Eater", you know…if I was walking down the corridors casually with you, I could be killed."

The two of them covered their faces with their cloaks and ran out of the Ministry faster than they had ever ran in their entire lives. But the most amazing thing, as they stood outside the door panting, was that they realized that they had not hit anything, knocked anything over, or even ran into anyone.

"Wow…that was really awesome…" Hermione smiled at Draco. "How do you know about stealth?"

"A lot of sneaking around…being a Death Eater is no easy task."

"I bet it isn't…"

The two of them stared at each other, then they both said exactly at once, "Let's take a walk…"

Hermione smiled. "I just want to tell you something…that's why I want to take a walk."

"So do I."

"Let's start walking…and you can go first."

Draco turned to her. "Can we go right over there?" He pointed to the walk beside the Thames River. It was so beautiful…the water rippled just right, and the trees were bent over the walkway just enough so someone could walk right beneath them and not get stuck.

"That's so…beautiful…romantic…"

"Perfect for what I want to tell you."

Hermione smiled. "Shall we then?"

He smiled, then gently grabbed her hand and walked across the street.

"Hermione?" Draco turned to her when they were beneath the large willow tree.

"Yes?"

"You know…how we were so…close when we were in our seventh year at Hogwarts?"

Hermione nodded. "We were in love…"

"Yeah…well…I was recently thinking about that and…"

"Yes?"

Draco swallowed. "I…I still love you, Hermione."

Hermione looked at Draco with eyes bigger than the moon. "You do?"

"Yeah…"

"I still love you, too…"

"You do?" Draco grinned.

"Yeah…"

Hermione and Draco looked at one another, smiling.

It was Hermione who was the first one to speak…she felt so silly, but she giggled and softly muttered, "It's a bit cold out here…"

"Yeah, it is…" Draco stared at her for a single moment longer, then he slowly walked toward her. "Will this help?"

"What—" Her words were cut off by Draco's gentle kiss. It was the most peaceful, wonderful feeling she had ever felt in her entire life. His lips tasted so fresh, so clean, so wonderful…this was the moment she had been waiting for the last four years.

He broke away, but she went back to him, kissing him once more. She gently let her tongue caress the top of his mouth, tasting every inch of his mouth. It was the most amazing sensation, and she wanted to make the best of it.

Her quick and rapid movements within the kiss took Draco aback, but he felt compelled to at least attempt to do what she was doing. His tongue slowly caressed her lips, but the taste of her skin and her beauty made him want more.

They stood there for quite some time, their senses on fire. This was the moment the two of them had wanted for so long, and now…now that they were back together once more…they were truly in love once more.

"Draco…" Hermione pulled away from the kiss, smiling wider than she had ever smiled in her entire life.

"That was amazing…"

"That was my first kiss…well, my first French kiss, if you want to call it by its proper name."

Draco grinned. "That was a French kiss?"

"You didn't know that?"

"No…how did you know?"

Hermione blushed. "Well…I've seen others doing it before, and I was just so caught up in the moment that I just had to try it."

"Did you like it?"

"Loved it is more like it."

Hermione smiled at Draco, who smiled right back.

"Shall we take a seat beneath this beautiful willow tree?" Draco gestured to a soft spot upon the ground.

"I shall if you won't…I feel as thought I will pass out if I don't take a seat!"

Draco smirked, then plopped down right beside her. The two of them were silent for a moment, watching the water.

Hermione noticed that Draco was drifting off to sleep, so she began to sing a soft lullaby to calm his heart and let him sleep peacefully.

"Love me tender, love me sweet, never let me go…you have made my life complete, and I love you so…"


	10. Don't Cry

  
_Chapter Ten: Don't Cry…_

She blinked a good few times, the sun shining so brightly that it hurt to keep her eyes open. After a few moments of adjusting to the light, Hermione turned over to see Draco lying beside her sound asleep.

"Draco? Draco, wake up…its morning…"

He jumped awake, blinking a good few times as well. "Its morning? Are you serious!" His eyes quickly glanced down at his watch. "It's five thirty…we stayed out all night."

"I know. It took me a few moments to realize that it was morning and I was still with you…I can't believe we stayed out all night…"

Draco giggled. "I wonder if anyone is looking for you at the Ministry…"

"At this point, I really wouldn't give a care…"

"You know, I noticed something about you…you never swear. I mean, you have never said any curse word. Fuck, shit, ass, damn, crap…none of them."

"I think it makes you seem very unintelligent and rude…it's just a personal preference…"

"Did your mummy tell you not to swear?" Draco grinned, thinking this would get to her.

"No…" Hermione blushed a shade of brilliant crimson. "Well…maybe."

"Hermione…you're twenty one years old. For Merlin's sake, just say one word. Just one. Your mummy can't hear you…"

"No! I refuse to swear!"

Draco gently kissed her, caressing the top of her mouth with his tongue once more.

"You brat…you little brat."

"Come on…please?"

Hermione shook her head, stubborn as usual. "I refuse to swear."

"You are so cute when you're angry with me."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Hermione took a deep breath, then she uttered her first swear word in twenty-one years. "Crap…"

Draco grinned. "See? I can get to you…"

"It's just because you kissed me…I go soft when you kiss me."

"This is the second time I've kissed you…"

"So? I can tell these kind of things pretty quickly…."

Draco stared at her with a confused expression upon his face. "Okay…_sure_."

Hermione giggled. "You are a brat. I just don't get you sometimes…you have so many layers beneath your regular personality that come out every once and awhile…"

"I'm a novel. You have a lot more to read about me, my dear."

"I can tell…but why do you hide so much of your personality behind that mask you wear? You are so cruel to people sometimes…why do you hide behind that anger?"

Draco looked into Hermione's eyes, tears welling inside them. "Did I ever tell you about my childhood?"

"No…"

"My father expected too much out of me…he was such an awful person. He made me become almost identical to him. Evil…black-hearted…but the summer when I was fourteen, I snuck out of the house and began to see this girl. She was the same age as me and had the same troubles as me…she was my sister."

"What!"

"I know, I know…she wasn't my real sister, though. She was sort of my adopted sister. Alexis was her name…she came to our door one morning and my mother, the kind-hearted soul she was, took her in. I was so attached to my mother, but the day my father turned her heart black…that was the day I left with Alexis…"

"What did you and Alexis do?"

Draco turned away. "I gave my virginity away to Alexis, and she gave hers away to me…we weren't truly in love, but we knew we would be rebelling against my father, so we did it anyway." In an effort to change the subject, he turned back to Hermione. "What happened between you, Ron, and Harry? I thought you three were the best of friends."

"Oh…well, Ron and I tried to create a relationship where we were still friends, but we kissed and all that jazz. It really didn't work out the way we wanted it to…so we had to become a couple. That didn't really work out the way we wanted it to, either. It's kind of funny…he's had feelings for me for so long, but the moment we tried to initiate a relationship, he shied away from me."

"That's terrible…but what about Harry?"

"Harry? Harry ran off with Ginny Weasley about two years ago. Rumor has it the two of them were dating in Harry's seventh year, and the only way Harry could see Ginny during her seventh year was to become an Animagus and slip in at the cover of darkness. Her mother had a heart attack when she found out that Harry and Ginny were secretly dating behind her back."

Draco shook his head in laughter. "Mrs. Weasley…she's very overprotective of her children. Bill and Charlie had to get away from that…"

"She sure had a cow when Ron and I tried to date each other during our sixth year. It was rather humorous, actually…but I want to know more about this Alexis you told me of. Who was she? What did you two do?"

"Alexis was an orphan, or at least that's what she told me. I think she ran away, but that's just my feeling. Anyway, she came to our doorstep and begged for food when I was about seven years old. We were the same age and we ended growing up together from age seven and on. But, the summer when I turned fourteen, my mother's heart turned black and threatened to leave Alexis out on the street if she didn't leave that exact moment. Alexis had always had a secret crush on me, but she decided that the only way she could be with me was if we ran away together," Draco paused for a moment, choking back on tears. After a few moments, he continued, "Alexis and I hid in a small apartment that was vacant…at least, from what we saw. In a way, she took advantage of me. I was young, I didn't know much about love…sex…all that jazz, like you say. My mother never told me anything about that…she thought I could figure it out for myself. Well, I did."

"What happened?"

"She forced me onto the floor and began stripping her clothes off in front of me. I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch this happen. The moment I knew she was trying to have sex with me was when she began to strip off my clothes and…oh, you know what happened next."

"So…you're not a virgin?"

"No…I lost my virginity at age fourteen because a girl who came to my doorstep begging for food and shelter. I personally think she wasn't that bad off…she was well dressed, and she didn't look thin."

Hermione shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe she did that."

"I can't either…" Tears began to fall down his cheeks as he thought of this horrible event in his life. "My father kicked her out…but I didn't care. I never wanted to see her again."

"Oh, baby…don't cry…" Hermione wiped his tears away from his eyes. "You are a strong person…if someone had done that to me, I would have locked myself in my room and never come out…"

"I did lock myself in my room. I didn't leave for almost six months. My mother only opened the door to give me food and water. I never spoke to her…I never said much."

"But you came out of the room…I would never have left it."

"I WAS A BROKEN CHILD, HERMIONE!" Draco got to his feet, running off down the small path along the water.

"Draco!" Hermione got to her feet and watched him run. She wanted to run after him, but she knew it wouldn't help. He would just keep running.

She sat back down, curled into a ball, and wept. She wept for Draco, she wept for herself…but she wept more for what Alexis had done to Draco. She destroyed him…

She created a monster that she could never destroy.

Hermione looked out over the water and saw that Draco had stripped his clothing off and was taking a dip in the Thames River. She walked over to the edge of the pathway and called to him. "Draco!"

He looked up, grinning. "I've never done this…I've always wanted to swim in the Thames River."

Hermione smirked back. "You seem better."

"Oh, I ran for quite some time. You must have sat there longer than you thought…then again, I do swim rather fast."

"Can I come in?"

"You can't swim in your clothes, though…"

Hermione started to strip off her clothing, her beautiful body glinting in the sunlight. After she completely stripped away her clothing, she gracefully dived into the water and swam over to Draco.

"You are…the most beautiful woman I have ever seen…"

She smiled. "Thank you…no one has ever told me such a nice thing before…"

"Where have you been hiding out all these years?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've never shown off your body before…I mean, I always thought you were beautiful, but…there's something about you that makes you special…"

"Oh, be quiet. I'm not THAT spectacular."

Draco swam over to her, tucking the hair that covered her pale, porcelain-like face behind her ear, smiling. "You are spectacular…you are my angel, Hermione Granger."

Hermione began to softly cry tears of utmost joy.

"Ssshhh…I don't like to see you cry…"

"But, that was so beautiful…no one has ever told me something so wonderful in my life."

Draco grinned, and he began to softly hum a song that he had heard a long time ago on the Muggle radio.

"Don't cry…no…don't cry…tonight, my baby…don't cry…you'll always be loved…don't cry…tonight, my baby…"


	11. Secrets

**Author's Notes: Hey! Here's the list of people I wanted to thank, as promised from last chapter. Thank you guys for being such loyal reviewers and I am sure there are more to come!**

_Silent-Serpent  
__KrispySteph  
__Vampire Masquerade  
__Bookxluver  
__Mia Rose 156  
__XoxobriTtnyxoxo13  
__Dreary Days  
__Curlyg2715  
__Andrew-needs-to-write  
__QuieroTuAmor  
__Forever-a-Wanderer  
__Blair A.  
__HogwartzBoizRHottiez  
__Azn-blossom08  
__DazzSeaStarr_

**Told you I had a lot of people to thank! Anyway, sorry it took up so much room at the top of the chapter…on with the story! (I apologize if I made any boo-boo's with your pennames…I copied these down in a hurry, so if there are any mistakes, I'M SORRY!)**

_Chapter Eleven: Secrets_

"We can't tell anyone, right?" Hermione was drying off her body. It was pointless to even do it; the sun was doing most of the work for her.

"No…no one must know we even know each other. We can communicate by owls, but we have to keep them confidential."

"My owl flies to my window every time someone sends me an owl. Either that, or Moon sends word to me that I have mail and he, of course, did not read it."

Draco nodded. "Good, good. Send a notice around the office letting everyone know that the mail you receive must be sent directly to you. No exceptions."

"I will…I was thinking of doing that anyway."

"We have the same brain waves, don't we?"

"I think so…" Hermione smirked.

"We'll have to think of a meeting time…how about every night at midnight?"

Hermione nodded, smiling. "That sounds good to me. Midnight…where will we meet?"

"Under the willow tree…no one really sits under there anyway. And if there is someone under there…I'll find a way to let you know where we will meet instead."

"Owl post?"

"Probably. Either that or I'll sneak into your office and leave a notice beneath your door again. This time, don't answer the door until I leave, okay?"

"Of course. I usually don't answer my door much anyway…and if I do, someone tells me that I have to answer the door…you know how that goes."

"But I thought you never had a door before."

"I built a door for my cubicle. People were walking in way too much and it was driving me absolutely crazy. Whoever has my cubicle now is probably thanking their lucky stars that they got mine."

Draco laughed. "You are the cleverest witch I know, my dearest Hermione."

"Everyone says that…" She blushed.

"They say it because they mean it. Why would we say something that nice and not mean it?"

"Oh, I've gotten that before…too many times."

Draco sighed. He knew _exactly_ how she felt.

"Shall we say goodbye here or will you walk me to my office?"

"I'll walk you to the front door of the Ministry and then I'll let you go in from there."

"Fair enough."

Draco gently grasped her hand, which made her jump ever so slightly. Hermione looked down to notice that there was something in his hand that was rather chilly.

"What's in your hand?"

"Nothing."

The two of them began walking, still bickering over what was in Draco's hand.

"Come on, it's something metal."

"For the six hundredth time, there is absolutely NOTHING in my hand!"

Hermione grinned. "Of course there is."

"You are a little sneaky bitch! You saw me put it in my hand, didn't you!"

"No! I just felt it in your hand when you grabbed mine!"

Draco paused, noticing they were about a block away from the Ministry and there was someone standing outside. "Here…I have something for you."

Hermione turned her head to the side, confused. "What?"

"Close your eyes and put your right hand out."

She did as he told her to. After a few moments, Draco tapped her shoulder. "You can open your eyes now…"

Hermione did, and the look on her face was priceless. Draco had given her a beautiful gold bracelet with a small heart charm upon it. Engraved in the heart was the words Draco + Hermione 4Ever.

"Draco…you didn't have to do this…"

"Oh, but I felt compelled to at least give you something…we just started dating again after four years of separation…I wanted to give it to you the day I saw you for the first time in four years, but I didn't know if you still loved me…"

A single tear fell down Hermione's cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. "Thank you…so much. I will treasure this forever."

"You have to get going…someone is coming for you."

She turned, noticing Moon's quickly paced steps. After quickly planting a kiss upon Draco's soft, full lips, she ran over to Moon.

"Hello, Lionheart. Who was that fine young man you were kissing over there?"

Hermione faked a look of surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, that boy you kissed before you ran over to me."

"Oh…he was a one night stand. Nothing really interesting, actually. We did it, woke up this morning, and then we said goodbye. Nothing to it."

"Then why did you kiss him goodbye?"

Hermione stared at Moon with a look of confusion. "Why are you asking so many god damn questions, Moon? For Merlin's sake, maybe I have feelings for him!"

"Do you?"

"Is this about the letter you gave me?"

Moon looked away. "I thought you really cared about me…I guess not."

And with that, Moon ran off, the tears falling down his face faster than rain.

"Moon!" Hermione called after him, but she knew it was too late.

She had broken his heart so badly, she didn't know if he would ever speak to her again…


	12. Broken Hearts

_Chapter Twelve: Broken Hearts_

Moon ran, the tears still falling down his face. He knew she would never love him again…but to kiss another man in front of his face? That was just low.

He cared so much about her…he loved the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she always looked at him with that look on her face. She had that look that she only used for him…

Moon thought Hermione loved him…the look in her eyes that she got when she was around him.

But it was all a lie. She didn't care about him. She was in love with someone else.

And he had an inkling of who it might be.

Moon had searched through her cubicle the moment he received it. Eagle thought it might be a good idea that Moon work in her cubicle now. Apparently, Eagle knew something that he did not.

But Moon found something in her cube that he didn't think he would ever find.

It was a picture. A picture of her and this boy with silver-blond hair and silver eyes. It had been taken a few years ago by the frayed edges and the look of the both of them. They were in their Hogwarts uniforms…she was wearing Gryffindor, whilst he wore Slytherin.

Hermione Granger, in love with a Slytherin? That was unheard of. Absurd. There was no rhyme or reason why she would sink so low as to fall in love with a boy who was in a house known to make Dark wizards and witches.

Was this the man she kissed before she ran to him?

If so…was he the one she was supposed to kill?

There were so many questions running through his mind. Who was he? What was his name? How did they fall in love? How long were they in love? Did they ever have sex?

Did she care about him so much that she would never forget him?

Moon was utterly confused, but he kept a copy of the picture in his pocket at all times. But now, as he slowed to a stop beside a small coffee house, he pulled out the picture and turned it over.

There was writing on the back. It read:

_I will always love you, my dearest Hermione. This picture will help you remember me when you leave to become an Auror. I will never forget you as long as I shall live…_

_With all the love in my heart,_

_Draco 3_

Draco? Draco who? Draco…

Draco _Malfoy?_

Moon was still lost in confusion, but he had a feeling that it was Draco Malfoy himself.

He decided to investigate.

Running back to his cube in the Ministry of Magic, he flipped madly through his files until he found the one marked Serpent Tongue.

He pulled it out, looking around him rapidly to see if anyone was around. He had removed the door Hermione had put on there…it annoyed him to no end.

After seeing that there was no one in sight, he put the picture of Hermione and this Draco kid up next to the picture of Serpent Tongue to see if there was any direct similiarities.

He found some shocking results.

The pictures did not look exactly alike, but the hair color was almost identical. Serpent Tongue's hair was long and silver blond, whereas the Draco boy's hair was closely cropped silver blond. Their eyes were the same; their heights were totally different…

But as he read farther down in his file, he found something rather interesting.

Backround Information For Serpent Tongue

**Name: **Draco Malfoy

**Age: **21

**Hogwarts House:** Slytherin

That was all he needed to know. Serpent Tongue was Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy was Serpent Tongue. She didn't kill him.

She loved Draco Malfoy.

But why? What compelled her to fall in love with such a dangerous and deadly person?

He was too tired to investigate any further on this topic, but he had the evidence that he needed to catch her in her own trap.

Yet Moon was going to keep this quiet for awhile. In fact, he wouldn't tell anyone until the moment seemed right…

Until then, he and Eagle were going to work on a plan to catch Hermione Granger and put her in her place.

And, of course, kill Draco Malfoy in the process.


	13. Moonlight Strolls

_Chapter Thirteen: Moonlight Strolls_

Hermione sighed happily, glancing down at her gold bracelet. She was so deep in thought that when Moon knocked on her door, she didn't even notice.

"Hermione?"

She looked up, seeing that someone was at her door. "Yes? Come in!"

Moon walked in the door, a look on his face that made her skin crawl. "There is some mail here for you. I haven't read it, I promise."

"Thank you, Moon. Can I have it, please?"

He handed the small envelope to her in a rather hurried fashion, as if the letter had a deadly curse inside of it and he wanted it out of his hands as soon as he possibly could.

Hermione was lost in confusion once more. Why was Moon acting this way?

"Is everything okay, Moon? You are acting rather strange…"

"Everything is fine! Perfectly fine! No worries here!" Moon coped a high-pitched voice, walking out the door as he spoke. When he was outside, he shook his head in disgust.

Hermione sat down at her desk, carefully opening the letter to find it was from Draco himself. She grinned happily, reading the letter slowly to make it last longer than it really should.

_My Dearest Hermione,_

_Tonight's arrangements have been slightly altered. I have been alerted from outside sources that someone has found out about our relationship and plans to watch us tonight. Meet me, as planned, by the large willow tree, but keep yourself concealed. Wear either a midnight blue or jet-black cloak. They won't be able to see us with such dark colors on. _

_With all my love,_

_Draco _

Hermione nodded to herself. "No wonder Moon was so strange when he spoke to me…he must be the one who discovered that Draco wasn't dead…"

She paused in mid sentence, making sure no one was watching her, and then she dodged out her door and stole about sixty purple sheets of paper.

Her memos.

After she carefully worded her memos and wrote them on each piece of purple paper, she sent them on their way. It was a rather humorous sight, seeing all these purple paper airplanes flying about the office. Once she let them loose, she found a piece of parchment and sent a letter back to Draco.

_My Love Draco,_

_I received your owl and I understand what you mean. I can tell that something is up with Moon. He's not himself, and I had a feeling that he knew something was going on. I will find myself a very dark cloak and take the long way round. If I am a little later than I usually am, that's because I will be starting a diversion within the office. I sent my memos about as well…hopefully they will get my message and listen to me. They should, since I am second in command…pretty much._

_I love you…do you know that? Well, if you don't, I do. I love you with all of my heart…_

_With all the love that I possess,_

_Hermione _

She gently kissed the letter where her signature sat, getting a small amount of ink upon her lips. This is what she wanted. She then kissed it once again, but farther down. Hopefully he gets the idea…

After the letter dried, she folded it, placed it in an envelope, and called to her owl, Mystic. "Can you find him?"

Mystic gently nipped her hand in a very loving way. She was a very reliable owl and found everyone that Hermione wanted her to.

"Good girl…now, go!"

The owl took her words literally and took off faster than she usually did, spooking a few people who were walking beside her office.

"Calm that owl down, Lionheart! It looks like it's about to kill something! Or someone!"

"Sorry, Eagle!" Hermione chuckled softly to herself. "I just need to get a letter somewhere rather quickly and my owl understands me rather well when I tell her what to do."

"I can see that!" Eagle dusted off his cloak. "May I have a word with you, Lionheart?"

"Of course…"

"Actually, Shadow wishes to speak with you."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Oh, I just remembered…I can't at the moment. I have to, err, be somewhere in a relatively short amount of time. Can you delay the meeting to tomorrow?"

"Of…of course. I completely understand. I will leave you to your work, Lionheart. How about nine thirty tomorrow for the meeting?"

"Can it be about ten? I might be a little late getting back in the morning."

"Ten o'clock it is." Eagle, like Moon, was acting rather strange. "See you tomorrow at ten, Lionheart."

"See you then, Eagle." She shut her door, breathing heavily. Hermione knew there was something going on behind her back, and now Shadow was getting involved…

What did everyone have against her?

The hours ticked past as Hermione paced her room, thinking of the many possibilities that would turn her closest friends against her. Was it the hunger for power? Was it to get back at her for becoming the second best Auror in her league?

Or was it just because she wasn't strong enough to kill someone?

There were so many possibilities…so many unanswered questions.

Hermione looked at the clock nervously. 12:00 p.m.

She grabbed her jet-black cloak, threw it about her shoulders, concealing her entire body and ran out the door of her office and out into the Ministry of Magic itself.

As she ran, she tried to keep her mind off the fact that someone could be following her every move.

But the more she tried to not think about it, the more the thought of a stalker tracking her every move.

Hermione was panting heavily, but she eventually reached her goal of the large willow tree beside the Thames River.

Draco was sitting there, reading a small black journal. "Hello there."

"Hello." She gently kissed him. "You seem solemn tonight."

"Because Moon was behind you the entire time."

"I knew that. Let's just hide out in a corner somewhere." Hermione grasped his hand. "Please?"

"Hermione…do you know that I am rather gifted in song?"

"Why are you trying to change the subject?"

Draco looked into her eyes. "Because I am trying to make it like we are NOT in love!" He whispered rather harshly. "Try to act like you are talking business with me!"

Hermione was taken aback, but she understood. "I understand…but I did get word this morning that someone named Alex was gaining power."

Draco was in shock. "Alex? Alex is gaining POWER?"

"Yes…supposedly, he is going to try and come after you or something of the sort. I know it sounds rather childish, but he wants revenge."

"Revenge? What, because I'm a Malfoy?"

"What are you talking about?"

"All he wants is to be the best Death Eater the world has ever seen, but he can't accept that I am the best! Bastard…"

"You aren't a Death Eater anymore, Draco…"

"Yes, I am. When the mark is burned into your arm, you are a Death Eater for life. There is no turning back."

"So, you still have contact with them?"

"They all think I died. Word was sent to them that you "killed" me. Don't you remember that man you call Shadow sending out a message to the Dark Lord?"

Hermione nodded. "I didn't think they believed it…what I heard was that they didn't believe a word we said to them."

Draco was silent for a moment, then he gently kissed Hermione. "He's gone…"

Hermione sighed with relief. "Good…I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to show any form of affection for you…"

"But you had better get back to the Ministry soon…but I have to tell you something before you go."

"What is it?"

"If Alex does come after me…let me fight him alone. I don't want to loose you again…" A single tear fell down his cheek.

"Draco…I have to at least help you…" She began to cry as well.

"Hermione, there is nothing you can do…they will kill you. I can't let them hurt you…"

"I was told to kill you, my love…I am not afraid of death."

"But I don't want to loose you…I already had to leave you once. I don't want to leave you again…" The tears began to fall faster down both of their faces…it was a horrible thing to see, the two lovers thinking about their possible deaths.

"I will respect your wishes…but if any word hits my ears that you are in trouble, I will be at your side. If I have to die to save your life…I will do it. Draco…don't you understand? I love you too much to let you fight Alex alone."

Draco nodded. "Let me try…I have faith in myself, Hermione. There is something that you have to learn about me. When I know I can do something, I usually like to do it alone."

Hermione was silent, the tears still falling down her cheeks. "I won't loose you, will I?"

Draco shook his head in reply. "I won't let you loose me again, my love. I will never let you feel that pain…"

The two of them embraced for what could be their last time together as free people.


	14. Alex At Large

_Chapter Fourteen: Alex At Large_

His pale blue cloak swayed in the breeze. He despised the bright and cheerful colors he was forced to wear, but if he was to blend in, he had to.

Alex never went against the Dark Lord. He did what he was told, and this time…

He was told to kill his best friend.

But Death Eaters don't have friends, as the Dark Lord told Alex before he left on his mission. They just have close relations with people.

If you said someone was your best friend, you might as well have been killing them as you spoke. They're good as dead anyway.

'_Voldemort never forgives…Voldemort never forgets…'_

Alex knew this. Why didn't Serpent Tongue? He should have remembered…he had said this to his young apprentice, Jacob, countless times. Why wasn't it embedded in his brain?

The answer, he realized rather quickly, could not be found unless Draco told it to him.

And it would take a lot of torturing to get it out of him.

Alex had been preparing for this day for a very long time. Today was the day when he would become the greatest Death Eater the world has ever seen.

Today…he would defeat Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy. And in the world's mind, this would be no easy task. But to Alex, this was just a bit of a workout.

Alex checked his wand over, seeing if there were any dents, cracks, or splits in the wood. The wand had to be perfect.

Torture was an art, not a skill. And on the best could perform it.

After he was sure his wand was, indeed, perfect, he dusted off his clothes, concealed his face beneath the horrid baby blue cloak, and began his long trek through the streets of London.

As he walked, he prepared himself. He ran over the things he would say to Draco…the curses he would use…the means of torture he would perform…

There was something in his heart that really, truly, wanted to say no. But he knew he could not trust the little tiny part of him. He had to do this.

He had no other choice.

It was strange to think that he would once do just about anything for Draco. They were closer than any of the other Death Eaters…it was horrid to think about all of the adventures they had together, all the times they had to lie to their masters just so they would stay out of trouble, and the time the two of them found love…

It was heartbreaking, but it had to be done. He had no other choice.

It was either this, or death.

Coming from an outsider's point of view looking upon this situation, you, as the reader, would probably die to save your friend's life, but it was not like that for Alex.

You see, he had worked so hard to get himself to the top. If he stopped now, it would be a long, hard road to the top again.

And, as the motto among the Death Eaters goes…

Voldemort never forgives…

Voldemort NEVER forgets.

Alex thought all of this through as he walked, and even though he remembered the fun years he spent with Serpent Tongue and there were so many reasons why he should not do this, he never changed his mind.

Then he saw him.

Draco was walking alone, his cloak hood down for some reason or another. Alex didn't really care why.

He was easier to spot then.

Alex cut down a few side streets to make himself look as though he was walking directly towards him the entire time.

"OY! Serpent Tongue!"

Draco looked up. "Alex?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out! How are you, my friend?"

"Death Eaters don't have friends, they have—"

"Close relations with someone, I know. But, it only seems fitting that, since we were so close for so long, friends should be the proper term for our relationship."

"I am no friend of yours. Your loyalty lies with the Dark Lord, not me."

"Oh, oh, oh. You are making a HUGE mistake, my friend. You see, I can help you."

"Fuck off."

"Make me."

Draco hated Alex. No, he LOATHED him.

"You want me dead. You don't care about me anymore."

Alex sighed. "I really hate it when someone spoils the ending." He pulled out his wand, screamed out a curse that cannot be translated into words that one would understand, and pointed his wand at Draco.

The pain coursing through Draco's body was immense. It felt as though Alex had just lit him on fire.

So this is what it felt like.

This was the curse that Alex alone knew how to perform.

"The Reign of Fire" was what he called it.

And it was worse than any of the Unforgiveables.

Why?

Because you never died. You were alive during everything the curse does to your body.

"Tell me something, oh Draco the magnificent. What is the motto among the Death Eaters?"

"Voldemort never…forgives. Voldemort…never forgets." It hurt to speak, but he had no other choice. Alex would throw another dose of the curse at him if he stayed silent.

"Exactly. Oh, just to let you know, you may begin to bleed out of your nose, your eyes…possibly some random cuts about your body…I just wanted to warn you. I can see some blood dripping from your nose as I speak." Alex grinned rather devilishly.

"You are…a monster." Draco put his hand to his nose to stem the flow of blood.

"Monster? Me? But don't you see the beauty of this?"

"I won't die. That's the beauty of this." Draco sneered back at him.

"The beauty? That's the worst part of the entire curse. But this is the best form of it yet, so I don't know if you will live or die."

Draco got to his feet, shaking madly as the blood poured from his eyes, his nose, and cuts were forming all over his body and began to bleed rather fiercely. He pulled out his wand, raised it above his head, and screamed,

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Within seconds, a flash of green light erupted from the tip of his wand and Alex fell.

Panting heavily, Draco went to examine Alex's body. As usual, the body was unmarked. But there was something strange about Alex.

He was still breathing.

He was stronger than the curse.

"Bastard," Draco muttered under his breath. After a few moments of watching to see if Alex would get to his feet and strangle him, he pulled out a knife, aimed…

But dropped it.

He stared at Alex for a moment, then yelled.

"I will be back for you, Alex! And my knife will be in your THROAT!"

Alex was silent, so Draco, bleeding profusely, walked away from the scene.

When he reached the doors of the Ministry of Magic, he was unable to stand any longer.

But, as Hermione ran out to save his life, she was just a second two late. His world had gone completely black.


	15. Eagle's Plan Part One

_Chapter Fifteen: Eagle's Plan (Part One)_

Meanwhile, Eagle, Moon, and Shadow were discussing Lionheart.

"What did you say she wrote in her memo?" Shadow was rather gifted with analyzing any situation.

"She wanted no one to touch her mail…said it needed to be kept "confidential"…" Moon rolled his eyes in disgust.

"And have you two kept her wishes?"

Eagle nodded. "I have, but I don't think Moon has."

Moon nodded. "I need to know what they're saying to each other…its part of my plan."

Shadow nodded. "Does she know this?"

"I think she guesses I know where she goes every single night."

"She goes to him every night?"

Moon and Eagle both nodded in unison.

"Why would she do that? Is she plotting against us or something?"

"We think she's planning to either attack us or leave us."

"Leave? Why?"

Moon pulled out the picture of Draco and Hermione and placed it on the table.

Shadow was confused. "What does this have to do—" But the way they stood with their arms around each other told him everything.

"She loves him."

He nodded to himself, reassuring that fact. "Eagle…what's your plan?"

"Well, my plan has two parts. I will only tell you part one today because that is all we can do at this point."

"I see. So, once we complete Part One of your plan, we will discuss and possibly carry out Part Two?" Shadow was leery of this, but he was going along with it just to make Eagle happy. One of his many faults as Head Auror.

"Exactly."

"Tell me this plan of yours, Eagle."

"Well, it's rather long…"

"We have time, Jack! Tell me the god damn plan!"

Eagle froze. No one used his real name…Shadow was definitely pissed off, and he didn't want to make things worse…

"Jack, just tell me the plan. For Merlin's sake, I KNOW I never call anyone by their birth names, but this is a matter of national security here, gentlemen! The two lovebirds could destroy everything we have worked so hard to achieve here. Plus, it would mean the death of us all!"

Jack and Hayden (also known as Eagle and Moon) nodded. "This is how the plan works," Eagle began to explain. "First off, we track them down. Find out every single place they go."

"You have done this, correct?"

"We know pretty much every place they could run to. We have a few loose ends, but I'm sure that by tonight, we will have them sorted out."

"Excellent work. Continue, please."

"Once we have their routes mapped out, we corner them in their own hideout."

Hayden nodded. "They don't know that we've been stalking them quite extensively in the past few weeks. It's taken a lot of long, tedious hours to find every single place they go, since they change up a lot, but we have found every place they have been or could be."

"Exactly," Jack nodded to Hayden, who blushed in embarrassment. "Once we have them cornered, we pry information out of them. If they run, we follow. We will not rest until we know every single thing they have been plotting all this time."

"Wait just one second. Don't you already know all that you need to know?"

"Wouldn't you be curious as to why they didn't kill each other?"

"You really are a fucking moron, Jack. THEY. LOVE. EACH. OTHER. Are you that dense, or have you never been in love before?"

"No love attempts for me…too attached to my job."

"You are so…I don't even want to say it. Tell me the rest of your precious plan."

"Well, once we are done wit the interrogation, we will put them on trial. And that," Jack got to his feet and did a bow, making Shadow want to vomit. "Is Part One of my plan."

Shadow was disgusted. "Here's my plan. We catch them, ask them a few painstaking questions, then throw their asses into Azkaban!"

Hayden couldn't take another minute of this. "I don't even think we should put them on trial right away. We should separate them. Let both sides have their way with them, then let them go. They'll cry to each other, boo hoo, life is hell, then BOOM! We catch them together, put them on trial, and then let it take its course from there."

Shadow was pleased with his young employee's work. "I do like that idea. Good work, Hayden"

"Thank you, Shadow."

"Call me Andy."

"Andy?"

"My real name, bozo."

"Oh."

"So, let's do Hayden's plan. It's the most logical and the best for all of us. We'll start in two days time. It gives them a day to do whatever those two lovebirds do. You all savvy with this?"

Jack and Hayden nodded. "Sounds good to me," They chorused in unison.

"But neither of you say anything to anyone else in the office, is that understood?"

Jack nodded as well as Hayden. "Of course," Jack replied. "We don't want this to spread too quickly."

Hayden was dazed. He was already formulating exactly what he was going to do.

He would send the word directly to the source of the problem.

A/N: OMG! I am so sorry guys! I feel really terrible about this! I had to remove all my good stories so I could get into but I will be bringing at least this one back. I'll have to see about the others. But, anyway, thank you for being a very understanding group of people and I hope I'm not killing the story for you! Please read and review!


	16. Escape

Chapter Sixteen: Escape 

Hermione was kneeling beside Draco, bandaging and rebandaging his wounds over and over again, but the blood kept seeping through the cloth.

"Draco…what happened to you? You need to tell me what happened or I can't help you." She was beginning to panic.

"Reign…of Fire. Blood…pours out…body…on fire…can't stop unless…have antidote." He coughed once more, clutching his chest in pain.

"What's the antidote?"

"Potion…page forty-five…" He blacked out once more.

Hermione knew exactly what he was talking about. Draco, which he told her one night, carried a small black book filled with antidotes.

A "Little Black Book", as some may call it.

She pulled the book out of his cloak pocket, her fingers pausing to twirl a strand of his hair around her finger. He would not leave her…not now, not ever.

After furiously flipping through the pages, she landed on one that was titled "Reign of Fire Antidote" scrawled across the top and little scribbles of fire and pools of blood around the potion itself.

So he had been plotting against Alex for a very long time…

Hermione scanned down the list of ingredients, taking mental notes as she went. Then, she was off, searching every storage cabinet in the little house they were in for all the ingredients.

Sweat was pouring down her face as she carefully ground, minced, and mixed the ingredients together. Her goal was simple and hopefully easy to reach: Keep Him Alive.

"Hermione…isn't it…complete?" Draco turned to look at her, wiping a stream of blood from his nose.

"Yes. It's done." She handed him a flask of the antidote and he quickly drained it.

"Yuck. Horrid taste, that stuff." He sighed heavily. "I have lost a very large amount of blood, but at least the flow stopped, so it should replenish itself in a few days time."

"Draco?" Hermione had a very panicky look on her face again.

"We have to leave, I know."

"Will you be able to walk?"

"I'm fine, love. Are you all right?"

Hermione nodded. "We really have to go."

"You know…we could die if we run now. If we wait just a few more minutes…"

"NO! What, are you insane? WE HAVE TO GO! Draco…my life means nothing to me anymore. If I die now, I know I've saved your life. I paid you back for everything you have done for me."

"I won't let you do this to yourself."

Hermione softly kissed his lips. "Well, you are going to have to, because here they come."

All Draco remembered from that moment on was the sound of a wand backfiring on itself, the shouts from down the hall, and the feeling of asphalt beneath his feet as he ran, clutching at Hermione's fingers.

He wasn't about to let her die just so he lived.

Not when she just saved his life.


End file.
